But if he wants out then what can we do other than look for the best deal possible?
Paul Pogba
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Exactly. It is out of United's hands now. We let him go into his last year of his contract. He will be sold cheap or just wait a year. We have little control in the matter. But we made sure that Mata and Jones and Ole don't go into their last years of their contracts so we are ok.
I personally think he will stay because he, whilst still very talented, is not the biggest or most attractive player available as that honor belongs to Haaland. I don't think he will attract enough interest to earn him the big contract that he and his agent covet and in desperation we will offer him that.
Yeah but if he cant he just waits till next year. Thats the point. We are screwed. Raoila and Pogba want paying. Only way to do that is if the fee is low. I would think lots of teams will pay 40-50 for him and give him high wages. If not he just sit out the contract and go on a free next year.
Truth and in reality he only needs to wait six months from the end of the season and sign for a new club. Juve will most likely offer us their cast offs, I suppose only Rabiot would interest us. We are in a bind that's why I still maintain that Woodward will panic and offer him a really silly contract.
I'm starting to get a bit worried that he will leave, and we don't replace him. I can live with him leaving if we do a serious attempt to replace him. But right now I dont see who we are looking at as a replacement. I would love Grealish in United but I don't see it happens.
If there is a new CDM on the radar I can see us extending Lingards contract and play Lingard. new cdm. Mc T. In the middle. This is not good enough in my opinion.
If we buy Grealish as a replacement to Pogba, I would be quite happy! Pogba is a better player at his best, but I dont see his best as much as i like. Grealish impresses me every time I se him play.
And the Riola show would be lovely to see from outside...
If there is a new CDM on the radar I can see us extending Lingards contract and play Lingard. new cdm. Mc T. In the middle. This is not good enough in my opinion.
If we buy Grealish as a replacement to Pogba, I would be quite happy! Pogba is a better player at his best, but I dont see his best as much as i like. Grealish impresses me every time I se him play.
And the Riola show would be lovely to see from outside...
I hope so. We are not getting a player better then him.
we can however get a player how is better for the team than him.
I think one of those things is true. I don't really see him as "a winner" personally. There isn't anything wrong with that, he hasn't shown the footballing traits of somebody who is a winner with United. Maybe for France and maybe in the past at Juvenetus.
"He wants trophies", is actually a really apt and poignant way of describing it when you drill down a bit deeper.
I know it's mostly delusional but I still have some hope of seeing Pogba and Bruno in a mid 3 playing in advanced roles in front of a great DM that can hold the mid on his own, a prime Matic sort of thing. Imagine a mid of Bruno, Pogba and Rice
I know it's mostly delusional but I still have some hope of seeing Pogba and Bruno in a mid 3 playing in advanced roles in front of a great DM that can hold the mid on his own, a prime Matic sort of thing. Imagine a mid of Bruno, Pogba and Rice
id love it to happen, and to work. Unfortunately I can’t see it.
We'll be a weaker team without him if he goes. We already need to strengthen the midfield as it is. Fred, McTom and Matic all have their uses but none should be regular starters for a team with title winning aspirations.
He definitely wants to leave and if he can get off to Barca, Real or Juve he will be gone. He'd have signed a contract by now if he really wanted to stay.
The issue is whether they can afford him. Even Pogba on a "free" transfer in 2022 would be every bit as "free" as Sanchez was for us, especially with Raiola wanting a payday. And I doubt anyone is paying decent money for 28 year olds this summer.
I know it's mostly delusional but I still have some hope of seeing Pogba and Bruno in a mid 3 playing in advanced roles in front of a great DM that can hold the mid on his own, a prime Matic sort of thing. Imagine a mid of Bruno, Pogba and Rice
that for me is the final roll of the dice. Big new contract and a specialist DM behind him. If I was the manager I’d have sold him by now though. Mostly because of the agent/transfer stuff but also because I think a box to box has to be more than willing to do the defensive side of the game too. I thought he was playing really well before he got injured but I’m not sure if making him one of, if not the highest paid player at the club is a wise move. We will see.
Get rid, I like the guy but the trouble ain't worth it for the few handful of games he shows up every year and then spends large parts out injured.
I’d say we will be ok either way. Will you be ok though?
Ok....wow that’s inspiring.
I honestly think some United fans are more interested in their own agenda re Pogba than whether the club wins trophies.
As for me, I’ve seen my idols leave and retire:-
Robson, Ince, Cantona, Stam, Becks, Keane, Ronaldo.
Those all hurt....but I got over it. In comparison Pogba leaving wouldn’t bother me too much individually, however the issue here is that when those players left we had so much quality we carried on.
Now our best player is Bruno and beyond Pogba and Rashford there isn’t too much other than some potential.
Neither Bruno or Pogba would’ve even got in the first 11 in 94,99 or 08. Now they are the best we have. We need to build on them. Or else we will be no more than ok.....but I’m glad you’re ok with that
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it’s only one not totally committed but skilful player who’s been injured for over 400 days since he got here. We will be fine if he stays or goes. The whole thing is pretty embarrassing at this stage between the agent quotes (fk Sir Alex and all that?!) and that he might leave on a free for the second time after we spent 90 million on him. Maybe that’s the clubs fault for not building well enough around him but I certainly think they tried. Ole has bent over backwards to separate Pogba from Minos quotes and any subsequent fan backlash. Good management.
You’re wrong about the bolded part. Bruno would have got into any of those teams above through sheer graft and determination and he would have thrived in almost any attacking position. If that’s the standard you rightly hold our current players to then can you imagine Pogba jogging around with Keane or Robson beside him? They’d have killed him. In a hungry team you can’t just switch off in the positions he does or chose to not work hard in certain games He’s been good for about 2 months this season. I thought he was poor last year. he was very good at the start with Ole and Jose but started up about wanting to move again once the honeymoon period was over. It’s a very mixed bag and I don’t think a new contract is going to magically fix any of that.
In what world. Name 1.
Grealish or Rice are two.
I’m not talking about a like for like player. We all know Pogba is pretty much unique - but we can get players who can improve the team.
an example would be when we replaced RVN with Carrick, they clearly weren’t like for like, but that was the only business (I think) we did for that summer and made the team better.
Bruno would not have gotten into any of those teams. He's had loads of games where he struggles to make 3 passes in a row. Championship winning teams don't have players like that.
Rooney openly said he wanted to leave back in them days and we didn't miss a beat. Ronaldo was apparently a slave yet we kept winning. Who cares what Mino says.
Poor is a group of guys who simply can't play. That's why we're struggling. We keep signing players who can't play, and then expect something positive to happen. It's wishful thinking at best. A better idea is getting rid of the trash and signing guys who can play to play with the guys we have who can play. Not look for a guys with 'graft'. It would also help if we got a coach who knows what he's doing.
Pogba can ball, we haven't had a single consistent outfield player for the past 6 years. The reason isn't just the players themselves.
Think we will extend his contract. Don't see any club spending enough to be able to sign him.
Rice is a holding mid, and Grealish is an attacker. Atleast try to find an 8 who can replace. What's playing Rice and McT/Fred gonna do for us ffs.
Think so
I said it wasn’t a like for like replacement. My point is very clear, we can replace Pogba for a player who makes the team better. My opinion is that both of those would.
You can defend Pogba without shitting on Bruno who’s clearly a harder worker on the pitch, is our most productive player by far and isn’t quoted at every juncture about leaving. Who even is his agent? I think Fergie would have LOVED him. Fergie wouldn’t have signed Pogba again either.
Pogba can ball alright when he’s arsed. We’ve sold a few ballers who stopped putting the work in down though the years and we were fine. I think we will be ok either way
I don’t think he works harder than any of the players he’d have replaced and isn’t as good as Cantona, Scholes, Yorke&Cole combined, Rooney or Ronaldo. You could argue Tevez but he wouldn’t be the same fit for that team in my opinion albeit he gives the ball away at least as frequently.
RE: Pogba I’m not seeing an argument that we will be better, I’m just seeing that you don’t like him.
I don’t mind him. He’s not as essential as some of you seem to think though.
Dont you think Grealish would play where Rashford plays? I love Grealish but a midfield of McFred depresses me and Grealish would just mean Rashford plays in positions he isn’t best in.
I agree with all of that. I personally want him to stay because of the promise of how good the team could be with him rather then without. Having said that, the desire to give his all is the most important factor and if that is not there, then I have no problem with him leaving. I'm done with supporting individual players since the day Becks left and broke my young naive heart at the time; it's all about the team and the club.
EDIT: Bruno would totally get in to any United team over the years. He has it all: talent, drive, personality. As much as a United player as any of them.
I agree he isn’t essential at all. We lived on after Ronaldo. The point is that we are in a position where we severely lack in quality. Pogba being one of three or four players, beyond potential like Greenwood.
Im concerned that we have Lindelof, Matic, McT, Fred, James and that we don’t have the right partner for Maguire, a proper DM and no RW. So for the reason I’d love to know the thought process of those dying for us to lose Pogba too.
im genuinely not dying to lose pogba. That chat with @Rozay and yourself a while back kind of turned me around from pretty much wanting him and mino gone to being more than ok with it if he ends up staying. He’s a good player on his day. I would get a dm behind him and see if we can fully fire him up and sell him on the fact that we are going to be challenging next year (hopefully) It’s still an expensive gamble though.
I understand your concerns about quality and the owners actually replacing pogba. That’s the thing. I’d rather Pogba signed a new deal than the owners selling him and just pocketing the money and ignoring the squad. I’m just unsure of what precedent it sets when you make someone who’s been trying to leave for 3 years your highest paid player- if that’s what happens. I think most managers/organisations/fans would be over it by now either way
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I would swap Pogba for Tielemans in a heartbeat.
How much would Raiola's five year old nephew be able to demand for him?
I mean, hypothetically - in this market, one year left on his contract, and so forth?
Let's say Juve are interested, then - just for argument's sake. What numbers are we talking about, realistically?
To be clear (because I know what some of you are like): I don't hate Pogba and I don't necessarily want him sold, I'm just proposing a hypothetical scenario in which he actually pushes for a move and we're willing to accommodate him.
And I mean this summer, given the current market.
I mean, hypothetically - in this market, one year left on his contract, and so forth?
Let's say Juve are interested, then - just for argument's sake. What numbers are we talking about, realistically?
To be clear (because I know what some of you are like): I don't hate Pogba and I don't necessarily want him sold, I'm just proposing a hypothetical scenario in which he actually pushes for a move and we're willing to accommodate him.
And I mean this summer, given the current market.
Probably a player swap? Juve have quite a few interesting players who could possibly improve us.
I don’t think a new contract is such a concern, hes better than ‘good’ on his day and has more good days than he’s given credit for. The concern for me would be injuries but the bigger concern for me is the constant false dawns and owners who seemingly only care about top four.
the problem is after 5 years, and a player who is now 28 we are talking about POTENTIAL.
There’s not a single person who doubts his talent, but he doesn’t give us enough, often enough.
I’d love him to stay and be a great player for us, but at some point, you have to say it just hasn’t worked, and is not going to work.
we would likely be having these same discussions about Pogba and POTENTIAL in 2 years time.
Juventus are nowhere near the team they were and its looking increasingnly likely that they wont win the Serie A, which would be the first time in 10 years.
Real Madrid, like Juventus, are nowhere near what they used to be. With an aging squad, I can only imagine it'd take a few years for them to get to the standards they were at a few years back.
PSG are probably the only team Pogba would go to but then he doesnt strike me as someone who would want to play in Ligue 1.
I was up for selling him before, but there's more pressing issues within our squad. That, and Pogba is genuinely a world class player.
With Pogba, Fred, Matic and McTominay currently at the club, I can imagine Ole will want to add a young promising midfielder to that (Bellingham and Caicedo is evidence of that) to naturally replace Pogba in a few years.
Real Madrid, like Juventus, are nowhere near what they used to be. With an aging squad, I can only imagine it'd take a few years for them to get to the standards they were at a few years back.
PSG are probably the only team Pogba would go to but then he doesnt strike me as someone who would want to play in Ligue 1.
I was up for selling him before, but there's more pressing issues within our squad. That, and Pogba is genuinely a world class player.
With Pogba, Fred, Matic and McTominay currently at the club, I can imagine Ole will want to add a young promising midfielder to that (Bellingham and Caicedo is evidence of that) to naturally replace Pogba in a few years.
Juve took a step back to take couple of steps forward. They have rejuvenated the squad with quality young players although still need to keep adding more quality. I think they are the natural destination for Pogba. He will add some penetration from MF which they seem to lack and have quick forwards who will benefit from his vision.
Them taking a step back is the reason they will go for Pogba, they didnt need him before, they might feel otherwise now. In addition, the idea of a cash plus swap deal is still feasible.